For Immediate Release – September 2, 2025
Illinois Department of Labor Opposes Federal Rollback of Minimum Wage Protections
Home healthcare workers are the latest target of administration’s proposed rule
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) strongly condemns actions by the Trump administration to roll back federal minimum wage and overtime protections for millions of home health care workers.
“These reckless rollbacks undermine the economic security of working families across the country,” said IDOL Director Jane Flanagan. “While Illinois has robust minimum wage and overtime protections for home health care workers, if the proposed rule is adopted, it will create inconsistency and confusion across the country. As the federal government weakens worker protections, IDOL is committed to protecting and promoting the wages of all workers in Illinois.”
On September 2, 2025, Illinois joined Pennsylvania and states across the country in formally opposing the U.S. Department of Labor’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service.
The Trump administration’s efforts to change federal wage regulations would strip away safeguards that had guaranteed home health care workers would receive at least the federal minimum wage, in an industry where wage theft and exploitation are common. The administration’s actions could lead to lower pay, greater wage disparities, and increased hardship for millions of working families.
Illinois has taken a different path. In 2019, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law a phased-in minimum wage increase that brought the state minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2025. The Illinois Minimum Wage Law provides minimum wage and overtime protections for most domestic workers, including those whose primary work duties are caregiving, companion services, personal care or home health services for elderly persons or persons with an illness, injury, or disability who require assistance in caring for themselves.
Through the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Program in-home care workers are paid $18 an hour. In Illinois, many home care workers also are protected by union contracts that provide wages higher than minimum wage.
The Illinois Department of Labor enforces state minimum wage laws, investigates unpaid wage claims, and ensures that workers receive the pay they earned and are legally entitled to. Workers who believe their rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint at labor.illinois.gov.
